Alex Colville was the designer of the 1967 50 cent Canadian centennial coins. (He actually designed a whole set of coins in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday -they are known as the Canadian Centennial Set.) On one side of the silver coin is the head of the queen of England and the words, “ELIZABETH II” and “D.G. REGINA”. On the flip side of the fifty cent piece is a wolf sitting on its hunches, with its nose pointed up in the air as if the wolf was howling. “50 CENTS” and “Canada 1867-1967” are inscribed on this side as well.

This 50 cent centennial coin is 20 percent copper and the other 80 percent is silver. When they were minted, each silver coin weighed 11.66 grams and had a diameter of 27.13 mm. If you were to weigh a Canadian fifty cent piece today, it may weigh a bit less if it’s well-worn. In 1967,Canada’s centennial year, 4,211,395 silver 50 cent coins were minted.

There are some very interesting events that occurred in the year of the creation of the 1967 50 cent Canadian coin. Lester B Pearson was the Prime Minister of Canada at that time. And on April 12, 1967, “O Canada” became the Canadian official national anthem. Another interesting point is that 1967 was the year that the Order of Canada came into being. Canada’s population had also jumped from about 3,463,000 in 1867 to around 19,000,000 in 1967.

Not only was the fifty cent centennial piece created to celebrate Canada’s passing the 100 year mark, but a lot of other parties and celebration were planned also. The city of Montreal in Quebec was host to the Expo 67 celebration as well as the Summer Olympics of 1967. Even in small rural farming communities, Centennial Dances were held with individuals winning prizes for “best centennial dress” and so on.

In Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Pan-America Games were held in 1967 as part of the Canadian centennial celebration. The Maryland Motor Hotel prided itself in being the “Only Totally Electrically Controlled Hotel Rooms in Manitoba” at the time. And at the Mid-Town Buffet in 1967, charged only 99 cents for an “all you can eat buffet” of baked ham, fried chicken, spare ribs, veal cutlets, and roast beef as part of the celebration…wow, how times have changed!

The wonderful part about all this is although all the partying and celebrating is over, I can still enjoy a 1967 centennial silver 50 cent coin today. I can buy a Canadian centennial piece today for about 15 to 20 dollars. This price is based on the silver spot price being at 40 dollars per ounce. To figure the price out, take the $40 and divide by 2 which equals $20. (This will weigh heavily on the spot price of today ,Sept. 2011 which is at $40 per ounce.)

The 1967 50 cent Canadian coins are a great piece of Canadian history to treasure today. Coin collectors value these coins and they also work well as unique Christmas or birthday gifts.

Minting the 1967 50 cent Canadian coins was just one of the many ways that Canada celebrated its centennial birthday. The Canadian people were bursting with excitement in the year 1967.

Many had come to Canada as immigrants from Europe seeking a better way of life. And yes, life had gotten better although not always easier as these courageous settlers carved out their new lives. (In March of 1967, Saskatchewan was hit with a three-day blizzard that left behind 12 foot-high snow drifts.) The Canadians were ready to celebrate.